Three of the Internet’s most popular destinations—Google, Wikipedia, and Craigslist—launched an audacious experiment in political activism this evening by urging their users to protest a pair of Hollywood-backed copyright laws.read more

If you’re hep to the internet, you’ve probably come across a wave of information — and even outrage — around the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). This controversial legislation has the stated goal of curbing foreign “rogue websites,” but the initial version of the bill could have done way more than that. Hence the widespread disapproval. read more

The technology community has made substantial in-roads in efforts to stop SOPA and Protect IP, two bills pending in Congress that would expand the ability of federal law enforcement and rightsholders to police the Internet for violations of intellectual-property laws. read more

While thousands of tech vendors frantically demoed new gadgets and apps at the giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a debate over the future of the Internet and how the government may regulate distribution of (often pirated) content was taking place down the hall….read more

The music industry has a long history of telling artists to “shut up and sing.” Which is why the internet has been so important in amplifying the voices of musicians of every conceivable background. It’s also why artists should be wary when powerful entertainment conglomerates push for polices that could undermine free expression, all the while claiming to speak for creators.

Congress is currently considering a pair of well-intentioned but deeply flawed pieces of legislation that threaten to fundamentally change how the internet works. Hollywood and the labels back these bills, which are rightfully being questioned by the broader arts community, from artists and managers to writers and performers. read more

Under current law, any U.S. website posting infringing content has to take the song or movie down at the request of whatever company owns the copyright. But under SOPA, companies could go directly to web hosting companies and require them to take down the entire website — not just individual songs and videos.

As a result, SOPA creates a new opening for corporate command of the Internet. Under SOPA, web hosting companies that take down legitimate websites at the behest of copyright holders would be granted blanket immunity from any liability for losses caused to those legitimate sites. read more

We have censored the following, in protest of a bill that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet — a bill that could pass in the House of Representatives THISWEEK. To see the uncensored text, and to stop this well-intentioned but overreaching bill, visit: http://americancensorship.org/posts/7227/uncensor